Container closure



Sept. 3, 1935. 'A. MITCHELL 2,013,166

' CONTAINER CLOSURE Filed Aug. 4, 1933 Patented Sept. 3, 1935 V CONTAINER oLos nE en t August Mitchell, New York,,N. Y.,\ assignor tow; American Tube and Cap, GorporatiomJersey City, N. J., a corporation of Delaware "Application August 4, 1933, Serial No. 683,567" l Claims. (01.221560) This invention relates to closure devices, and is in the nature of a specific improvement in 010- sure means of the type disclosed in the Reissue Patent No. 18,649, to Walther Kalb, issued November 8, 1 932 f'My invention is directed primarily to simplicity of construction, ease of assembly, and to the provision of a closure device which can be-applied with'expedition and facility to containers of known *construction'and which arenow in cornmon use. Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the detail description.

In the drawing: Figure l is a plan View of a closure device embodying myinvention; as applied to a container 1 in the form of a tube such as is commonly used for containing tooth paste and other material s;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View through the closure device of my invention, taken sub- 'stantially on line 2--2 of Figure l,' the tube being shown. as partly broken away and' in" section Figure 3 is a view similartoFigure l, but with the cap of the closure deviceomitted; and

fFigure l isa View similar to Figure 2; but showance with my invention. 1 U M The closure device of my invention comprises a tubular neck I ofcylindrical form, the lower poring a modified formof closure device in accordtion la of which is reduced to provide an out wardly projectingshoulder 2 extending around i the neck circumferentially thereof. -Neck lie" .n'eath shoulder 2 thereof. This member may be provid'ed,at its upper end, with a cover Sfrom the central" portion of which projects' a cylindrical boss- 4. The cover is provided with arcuate slots or openings 5 disposed outwardly beyond boss 4 and concentrically therewith; these openings extending through a downwardly and outw ardly inclined shoulder 6 ofthecover connectingthe upper end of the neck and the base of boss 4.

A snapmember l fits snugly about neck I be formed of any suitable resilient material, such as snap action.

spring brass; is annular in plan and of channel.

cross-section. lnnerflangeii ofmember ljprovides a short collar which fits snugly about the neck beneath shoulder 2, as shown in Figure 2.

The snap memberis dished or distorted sothat,

when thisqnember is-flexed in either directionbeyond'its mid orneutral position, it moves beyondthis position and-in such direction with a" i A; closurecap 9, which isfpreierably solid and may be, formed of V a condensation product, such asthe product knowncommercially as "-bakelite;

is mounted in the snap member 1. 'Cap 9is conveniently of the shape of a segment of a sphere andis attached,-at its outerportion, to member 1 by heading the upper edge portion of outer flange ll] of member I over the outer edge'portion of the cap, as at lila. The under face of cap 'tainer and consequent drying thereof.

ance ll between the 'capand member? to'facilitate flexing; of the latter.

The jcapfis provided witha suitable bore extending" from its under face andpfproper di ametentolreceive snugly neck i 'so that the' cap is slidable upon and guided by the neck; The cap is further provided, at the upper end of this bore, with an inwardly projecting and tapering flange Ifshaped to fitsnugly about boss 4 and seat snugly upon shouldert of the cover't so as to close the openings 5. When in, closed position, the cap" thus provides a tight closure about boss i aswell 'asa tight closure'for the openings 5, this double, closure-eliminating possibility of access of air to'the contents of the associated con- The snug fit of cap 9- about neck I is also of assistance in preventing access of air to the openings 5 when paste and variousother materials; This tube is provided, "at its *upper end, with a short collar 0.

.The lower portion la of neck 9 of of proper di ameter to fitsnugly through'collar c of the'tube T, and the lower end of the tube is'left open until the proper'quantity of the desired material has beenplaced' withinthe" tube, in accordance with present practijce, after which the lower end of l the tube is closed and sealed in a known manner.

of member T'seats-tightly against theupper edge of the collar; "at which-time the lower end portion of neck-ioccupies the dotted line position of Figure 2: This portion of necki is then exv panded radially, in a suitable manner; so as to engage beneath shoulder dof the tube T extendingbetween-the body' 'of the tube andcollar c, as s'hownimfull l'i nesin Figure 22 During the operatioh'of expanding the lower end of neck l, the 'collarc and adjacent portion of the tubemay be supported in a'snitableform, as is known in the art; t c-"prevent deforming of thetube; After the lower end ofnecl; I hasbeen spreadin this man? ner,the closurefdevice is effectively anchored. to thetube, the contents of which may be discharged through" neck I" and openings 5. Cap 9- is normally held in closed-position by snap member 7, which urges thecapltoward cover: 3 of neckd and holds it firmly seatedt" When it is desired to dischargethe contents of tube T, the outer edge portion of member 1 is grasped and this member andvthe cap are moved away from cover 3. As

soon as the cap 9 moves outwardly across the mid or neutral position of member I, this member acts with a snap action to move the cap into its full open position indicated'by dotted lines in Figure 2, in which position the cap is retained by the snap member. After the desired amount of material has been discharged from the tube T, through the openings 5 and the opening defined by flange 12 of the cap, the cap is pushed toward the tube until snap member I passes its mid or neutral position, after which member I completes closing of the cap with a snap action and thereafter urges the cap in closing direction so as to maintain the closure of openings 5 and prevent access of air to the tube. Any slight amount of tooth paste or othermaterial contained within the tube T, which may be expelledjbetween flange I2 and boss 4 incident'to closing of the cap, may be wiped from the upper end of boss l and adja cent portions of the cap, assuring that no material remains which, on drying, due to contact with the air, might interfere with opening of the cap.

While I have illustrated the closure device of my invention as applied to a collapsible tube of known type, such as is commonly used for containing tooth paste and various other materials, it will be understood that this device is capable of being used with various types of other containers such as are now in common use.

In Figure 4 I have illustrated a modified form of my invention. This form is similar to that illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, with the exception that the snap member m is provided with a plurality of concentric corrugations lb. These corrugations are advantageous in certain instances as facilitating flexing of the snap member. Otherwise, the construction and operation of the form of device illustrated in Figure 4 are similar to the construction and operation of the device illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, and need not be further described.

What I claim is: g V

1. In combination in a closure device of the character described, a tubular neck having at one end a cover provided with openings therethrough, said neck being provided with an outer circumferential shoulder remote from its other end, the portion of theneck between said shoulder and said other end of the neck being adapted for insertion into a corresponding tubular element of an associated container, a cap having a discharge opening and movable lengthwise of the neck and adapted to seat on said cover: and close the openings thereof, and a snap member fitting about the neck beneath the shoulderthereof and attached at its outer edge to the cap, the inner edge of the snap member being disposed to be confined between said shoulder and said tubular element when the closure device is applied to said container, said member acting to move the cap from and toward the cover by a snap action, when the cap is moved beyond neutral position, and to hold the cap seated on the cover. 7

2. In combination in a closure device of the character described, a tubular neck having at one end a cover provided with an outwardly projecting boss and with openings adjacent the inner end of the boss, said neck being provided with an outwardly extending shoulder thereabout, a cap slidably mounted upon the neck and provided with a flange of a size and shape to fit snugly about the boss and seat upon the cover and close the openings thereof, and a resilient snap member fitting about the neck beneath the shoulder and attached to the cap, said member acting to move the cap away from and toward the cover when the cap is moved beyond neutral position, and to hold the cap seated upon the cover, the cap being guided by the neck in the movement of said cap from either of its extreme positions into its other extreme position, the portion of the neck between the other end thereof and said shoulder being adapted for insertion into a tubular element of a container.

3. In a closure device of the character described, a tubular neck formed of relatively soft and ductile metal and having at one end a cover provided with openings therethrough, said neck being provided with an outwardly projecting shoulder extending thereabout, a cap having a discharge opening and movable lengthwise of the neck and adapted to seat upon the cover and close the openings thereof, and a snap member connecting the cap and the neck and fitting about the latterbeneath the should-er, said member acting to move the cap toward and away from the cover when the cap is moved beyond neutral 4. In a closure device of the character described, a tubular neck having at one end a cover provided with an outwardly projecting boss and with openings located between the inner end of the boss and the outer periphery of the neck, said neck being provided below the cover with an outwardly extending shoulder thereabout, a snap member substantially annular in plan and of channel cross-section fitting about the neck beneath said shoulder, and a solid cap fitting snugly about and slidable on the neck and mounted in said member with its outer portion attached thereto, said cap being provided with a flange of a size and shape to fit snugly about the boss and seat upon the cover and close the openings thereof, saidsnap member acting to urge the cap toward and away from the cover when the cap is moved beyond neutral position, and to hold the cap seated upon the cover.

5. In a closure device of the character described, a tubular neck having at its upper end a cover provided with an outlet opening, a 'cap having a discharge opening movable lengthwise of the neck and adapted to seat upon the cover and close the opening thereof, the lower portion of the neck being of reduced diameter to provide an outwardly projecting shoulder thereabove, and a snap member fitting about the neck and held by said shoulder against movement lengthwise thereof toward said cover, said member connecting the cap and the neck and acting to move the cap toward and away from the cover by a snap action, when the cap is moved beyond neutral position, the lower reduced portion of the- AUGUST MITCHELL. 

